Border, Escaping, Contemporary Witnesses, West, East

Peter Fechter dies trying to escape

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Eighteen-year-old Peter Fechter is shot while trying to escape near Checkpoint Charlie. US soldiers, West Berlin police and GDR border guards fail to come to the rescue of the dying man. He bleeds to death in the death strip.

Crowds of people gather on both sides, but can do nothing but stand by and watch as he dies. That evening, thousands of West Berliners take to the streets to protest against the Wall. The mayor of Berlin, Willy Brandt, urges calm.

By November 1989, at least 136 people will have died at the Wall.

Margit Hosseini talks about what she experienced at Checkpoint Charlie on 17 August.

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  • Berlin, Checkpoint Charlie
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    5
    latitude
    52.50760188
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    13.38971615